August 21, 2017

This unit is made from ex-Grenadier Elf Cavalry from Forlorn Hope Games mounted on riding beasts from Traveler. (I call them tauntauns because they look like them)

Even though they are merrily waving their swords around, they are a unit of mounted archers. They have quivers on their backs, and bows in cases slung behind their saddles. (The bowcases fit like the saddle was made for them)

Like all my Martian units, they are uniformed in ‘off’ colours I’d never use for human uniforms.

The rider comes in two parts: below the waist, and above, joined with a swivel-y waist so you can choose the angle of the top half. The figures are mostly unmodified: Their legs are bent so they are seated more knees-up to fit the saddle, and they are joined at the waist at a different angle than they would be on a horse. Otherwise they’d be leaning back, staring at the sky.

Originally I had intended to mount them on ex-Ral Partha Hexatrixes, (used as thoats) but after I had completed three thoat Cavalry, I got distracted. I THOUGHT I had finished the unit, but I had not. I used the thoats for a different unit.

I realized my mistake after I thought I was finished my Martians. I found three lonely riders on mounts, and realized I had never finished the unit. In a box I found a unit’s wort of tauntauns waiting for riders, so that was that. I even had to rip finished riders off their thoats and put them on new mounts.

This is the first group of figures I did for this unit. I think they looked good on the thoats, but maybe they are better on the tauntauns.

August 14, 2017

This is a unit of ex-Grenadier Elven Knights from Forlorn Hope Games mounted on RAFM gashants. They look like an ideal match, but there was some work involved.

The Knights were intended for horses, far less bulky than the gashants. To get them to fit, I took my Dremel and ground out inside the rider’s legs, and carved the saddle from the gashant, and I even had to trim away the surcoat to clear the gashant’s knees. Thankfully they don’t need a perfect fit under their robes.

The lances are made from floral wire, and the standard was printed on my computer, using a clip art design. Their weapon arms are separate, so they could have been couched, but I just prefer upright spears.

There are several different Elven Knights, but I specified this product code, as the upswept shield resembles one of the RAFM shields.

If I had more talent and imagination, I would have painted unit colours and designs on the mount’s beak and flanks – They cry out for decoration. Lance pennants would also spruce ’em up a bit.

I have several other units based on the High Elves, and they look good together. They can easily be used as a separate force, or can just give variety to my forces.

August 6, 2017

This unit is made from ex-Grenadier Wood Elf cavalry from Forlorn Hope Games, mounted on ex-Grenadier Traveler riding beasts. (No idea what they called them.) I imagine them as lighter and fleeter than Gashants, performing Light Cavalry duties.

The riders were originally swordsmen, but I replaced the swords with javelins made from floral wire.

I have two units of archers on the same style of beast, they look particularly convincing working together as tribal auxiliaries to my City-State forces.

Their round shields are painted to imitate the lunate shields of several other units. The standard was printed on my computer, using clip art for the design.

The riding beasts have a charming face, I like to think it hides a nasty disposition.

July 29, 2017

This unit is made up of ex-Grenadier High Elven spearmen, from Forlorn Hope Games. There are several styles in the range, and I chose the one with the upswept shield because it resembles a shield in the RAFM Martian Legion.

As is my wont, I replaced the spears with pole weapons made from floral wire. The supplied spears were fine, but wire is stronger and I wanted a variety of cutting blades rather than spears.

There are two types, in equal numbers: A straight blade, and a curved glaive blade. I formed the blades and then hammered them flat on a small anvil. Each has a small tsuba punched from sheet plastic.

The officer is a spearman with his spear replaced with a wire sword. The sword was made like the glaives, but with a short handle. The standard was printed on my computer, and the pole was twisted from the same wire as the spears..

This unit matches two other units and a gashant cavalry unit in style, so they all have similar standards, in different colours. The four units make a good force on their own.

July 21, 2017

I wanted a unit of Martian Musketeers, and this is it: The musketeers are converted from an older Grenadier miniature, Open-Handed Elf, from Forlorn Hope Games. Just a bit of bending, and muskets from the parts box

The standard bearer and officer are from the Wood Elf Command pack. (Although the standard bearer is 25 years older than the rest of the unit.)

March 4, 2017

I’ve been making cavalry, from various ex-Grenadier Elves, (from Forlorn Hope Games) and mounts from various companies. I have ‘Thoats’ (Formerly Hexatrixes, bought from Ral Partha) ‘Tauntauns’ (ex-Grenadier Traveler riding beasts) and Gashants from Rafm. I can’t guarantee the provenence of every one: I bought some from the manufacturers, some from ebay, and some from other 1889 gamers.

A General or champion: A GW Elf from a bargain bin in a comic store many years ago. He’s riding a Thoat and waving a RENEGADE shield. He originally had a spear, that I replaced with a flattened wire sword.

Steppe Martian light cavalry. An ex-Grenadier Elf riding an ex-Grenadier riding beast from Traveller. The beast looks like a Tuantuan, so that’s what I’ve been calling it. They’re not bad looking, and the mount is nice and alien looking. This was my first try, I have since finished the unit, but have not yet photographed it.

Because of the angle of the saddle, I had to bend the legs into a more seated position otherwise the rider leaned back in an odd fashion.

Martian heavy cavalry. An ex-Grenadier Elven Knight riding a Gashant. They did not want to fit together. I had to carve away a lot of saddle, and inside the rider’s legs, plus clip the bottom of the surcoat. I have never been a big fan of Gashants, they always looked to me like they would have sore backs. But it’s not so bad after all.

Again, I have since finished the unit, and they don’t look bad at all en masse. The Gashants might look better with designs painted on them, or colourful toucan-style beaks.

December 26, 2016

This unit is a bit of a mash-up: It’s made up of ex-Grenadier products from both sides of the pond, and is the result of decades of planning.

Back in the day, Grenadier USA produced various boxed sets, including a set of Traveler beasties, including a rider on a TaunTaun-like beast. (Traveler fans will no doubt know its name, I do not)

Seeing the potential for use in a fantasy army that I never built, I bought several dozen of the beast, and they sat in a box for 25 or so years.

When I started my SPACE 1889 jag, I picked up some Elven horse archers from Forlorn Hope Games, and mounted them on these not-TaunTauns. They make a nice change from Gashants, and are a lot more fun to paint. (Although part of that is my boring paint choice for Gashants)

I also put Elven cavalry on Ral Partha Hexatrixes, that I use as Thoats. I’ve since finished the unit, but haven’t taken any pictures yet.

Last of all, we have a Tin Man Miniatures Calot. He looks a bit smug, but he’s a nice figure.

December 15, 2016

This is a laser-cut MDF Martian skiff from RedVectors. It’s a lovely kit, well designed, and a joy to build. I recommend it.

Stylistically it’s strongly influenced by the Desert Skiffs in Star Wars. Nothing wrong with that, it’s a good look. It’s useful for Star Wars, Barsoom, SPACE 1889, or of course any other game with flying boats.

It comes with a stand as shown, but it isn’t perfectly stable, especially with a metal crew. Having the supports farther apart, a longer base, or farther back on the hull might help.

November 14, 2016

This is a unit of heavily-armored crossbowmen, to be used as City-State infantry. Like the Raptor Riders, they are ex-Grenadier Dark Elves from Forlorn Hope Games.

I had originally planned to modify them into musketeers, but I did one and decided against it. He looked good, but doing another 17 was more effort than I wanted to make. They also look great as crossbowmen!

The Officer and Standard bearer are just a pair of swordsmen, converted to command. They do have command figures available, but I like these. The command figures are more flamboyant, and I wanted the unit to be all business.

I chose a crescent design for the banner, to echo the shields carried by the command figures.

The figures are great: Lots of detail to paint, and more brought out by ink washes. They will look great battling on Mars.